Top Stories - Topics from August, 2013

— See a photo gallery from Friday night's action on The Madison County Journal Facebook page

By Dallas Bordon and Zach Mitcham

One play when it counts — the Raiders got just that Friday night in their 15-14 win at Oconee County.

Actually, how about two?

Trailing 14-0 early in the second quarter, the Red Raiders rallied to take a late lead on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Wesley Johnson to Malik Freeman with 3:21 left to play. That score was followed by a clutch two-point conversion run by Freeman.

“Malik got behind him and I told the quarterback if they bail with Malik, throw it in the flat to Cameron (Stevenson),” said Red Raider head coach Chris Smith of the late touchdown. “If he gets his pads downhill, he’s got a chance to score. But they sucked up (toward the line) and he got it over his head to Malik. It was a great throw by Wesley Johnson.”

Johnson said converting on fourth-and-goal was a thrill.

“It was awesome; we just came up with a play on the spot and we were trying to do a run off of our option,” said Johnson of the winning touchdown pass. “I saw Malik turn his head in the corner of the end zone and I was gonna’ hit my receiver.”

Oconee County was called off sides on the point after attempt, which moved the ball half the distance to the goal line. Smith then rolled the dice and sent out Freeman who ran a sweep around the corner and into the end zone for the two-point conversion that eventually gave the Raiders the one point win.

“Anytime they jump off sides and we get the ball on the foot and a half, we’re going to go for two,” said Smith. “I’m just going to put it on our guys up front. I think we can get a yard and a half. That was our thinking when we went for it.”[Full Story »]

Ronald Turner thought he’d cut the grass around his fish pond, but his wife, Lavonia, laid down on their bed to rest before she cooked supper. So Ronald put off the mowing.

“I thought she might be feeling bad,” he said. “So, I thought, ‘Naw, I’ll just lay down with you.’”

The phone then rang and Lavonia told her husband to pick it up.

“I reached and got it,” said Ronald. “And it was someone wanting to help me out with my credit card. And I don’t even have one. Anyway, I heard like a big yawn and I looked over and she was just rared up in the bed. And I didn’t know what to do. I run around and tried to shake her. Then I called 9-1-1.”

He says he has smoked cigarettes since he was 16 and went to work in a cotton mill.

McClain, who has lived in Madison County most of his life, will be 102 August 31.

“Yep, it’s gonna kill him one of these days,” said his son, Bill McClain, chuckling. “Seriously, he’s never sick.”

McClain still maintains his own household in a home whose original section is perhaps 150 or more years old. His daughter, June McClain, who lives in nearby Jackson County, said the home was purchased by her grandmother, Reesie Mercer McClain, sometime in the 1950s. She said many people have come by over the years who have had connections with the home.

McClain still microwaves and prepares snacks for himself and is provided a daily meal by the Meals on Wheels program through the Madison County Senior Center.

Center director Kelsey Tyner, said she is amazed at how well he manages and was astonished to find out how old he is. Tyner met him while learning the home meal delivery routes shortly after she was hired as the new director earlier this year.

McClain has been married twice, and both ladies are still living. Bill’s and his sister Barbara’s mother, from whom McClain was divorced in 1947, is now 96, remarried and also still enjoys good health.

“They haven’t seen each other since then, and they wouldn’t even know who each other is,” Bill said. [Full Story »]

Following weeks of discussion regarding the safety of Glenn Carrie Road, numerous residents spoke out against the proposed speed breakers in hopes of swaying the council’s vote.

“We’ve been discussing this for quite some time now, but before we put our decision to a vote I’m going to let everyone here voice their thoughts on the matter,” said Mayor Paul Elkins.

Speaking on behalf of the Hull Fire Department, Frank Edwards read from a list of statistics and reasons for the opposition of the breakers.

“The opinion of the fire chief and consensus of the fire department as a whole is that the use of speed breakers on Glenn Carrie would be a potential hazard,” said Edwards. “The breakers would potentially slow the response time of our fire trucks and response vehicles by two to three minutes, could cause accidents for unknowing drivers on that road, and could not only cause an unnecessary accident but could keep us from saving a life as well.”

Edwards said there haven’t been accidents on the road this year, but that the fire department has often had to travel the road.[Full Story »]

Danielsville leaders will not raise the mill rate this year on city taxes.

The council voted Aug. 12, following a budget hearing, to keep the current rate at four mills, though county assessment figures show the city will likely come up about $2,300 short in tax revenue next year.

The council also voted to amend the agenda in order to vote to accept an intergovernmental agreement with the board of education on a new city water tank that will be located near the school complex and future ag center on Madison Street.

If the BOE also accepts the agreement, Mayor Todd Higdon said the city will obtain a $600,000 GEFA loan from the state, to be paid back over 20 years at a 2.4 percent interest rate, providing that water testing from the EPD shows the water is suitable for drinking. Higdon said the revenues generated from water sales would be used to pay the loan back.

Higdon said the water tank would hold 100,000 gallons of water and will greatly increase fire protection on the south side of town and for the schools, and allow for economic growth.[Full Story »]

The Madison County Board of Education held its final meeting Aug. 13 before school started, where board members heard that construction at the high school is beginning to take shape and is on track to be finished by the start of school next year.

Assistant superintendent Bonnie Knight said the building beams are going up and the steel/decking for the kitchen/café is approximately 99 percent complete in the main building. In the gym, the new HVAC units are installed and the new roof is almost finished. Workers are in the process of pouring a concrete sidewalk on the school side of Madison Street to help with the flow of students to and from the parking lots.

The new field house is nearly complete and concession equipment is expected to be moved in this week, just ahead of the start of football season.

The high school is talking with Charles Black Construction, Knight said, to make the area adjacent to Madison Street where the house was torn down (576 Madison Street) into an outdoor classroom and/or park area. Students in environmental science and agriculture would work on the design.

Knight told the board that she is concerned because SPLOST revenues continue to drop. She said July revenues were $29,000 lower than they were a year ago. Overall, she pointed out that SPLOST funds were down $60,000 over the last five months. [Full Story »]

Madison County government employees shouldn’t expect raises in 2014, but they could get a Christmas-time bonus this year.

County commissioners met for over four hours Aug. 5 to discuss the 2014 county budget, with the primary issue being employee compensation.

BOC members agreed that the economic outlook for the county is hazy. They don’t know what the next few years will hold. They acknowledged that any raises approved would carry over beyond next year. But board members seem eager to offer employees something, since raises haven’t been given in several years. So, they discussed a one-time bonus to employees. And the group seemed to like the idea of presenting lump-sum bonus checks to employees in December, just in time for Christmas.

Commissioner Mike Youngblood proposed a three-percent bonus for employees — excluding constitutional officers and county commissioners.
“Let’s give it to the department heads and let them distribute it how they want to,” said Youngblood. “This is a one-year deal. I don’t feel like with the economy like it is we can lock ourselves into following years.”

Youngblood told the elected officials and department heads who crowded the room for the budget meeting that he wants to see the end result, exactly how they distributed the money.

Three percent of all county salaries would equal roughly $175,000 to $180,000. Commission chairman Anthony Dove said there are 175 to 180 employees who could be considered for the bonuses. If the bonuses were distributed equally between all, then each employee would receive roughly $1,000.

That’s how commissioner Jim Escoe wanted the money distributed.

“In all fairness, it should be distributed evenly across the board,” said Escoe. [Full Story »]

A special event facility cannot be constructed near the intersection of Hwy. 106 and Neese-Commerce Road.

County commissioners voted 4-1 Aug. 5 — with Pete Bond providing the lone “No” — to turn down a request by Deborah Helms for a conditional use permit for an event hall at her house off of Neese-Commerce Road.

Helms said she planned to construct a facility, capable of holding 300 people, on her property to host weddings and corporate events. She planned to encourage people to take vans from hotels in Athens. Helms said she anticipated having an event per month, with multiple events possible in heavy wedding months, such as May and October. She said she planned to have all events shut down by 11 p.m.

One of Helms’ neighbors spoke in support of her proposal, saying she was “excited to hear about it.” But that was not the prevailing sentiment among her neighbors. Numerous nearby Neese residents took the podium Monday to voice concerns about the plans.

Many residents shared that fear, saying that adding numerous cars and vans from an event where alcohol is served to the intersection would be a recipe for disaster.

Neighbors worried about noise from big events disrupting quiet country nights and being “something that totally disrupts the ambiance of the neighborhood.” They said water runoff would be an issue. They said the 11 p.m. shut down time would be hard to enforce for weddings. They worried about event participants wandering off the property onto surrounding land.

Commissioners Stanley Thomas made a motion to deny the request, citing traffic safety as a primary concern. Commissioner Mike Youngblood, a firefighter and First Responder, agreed that the Hwy. 106-Neese-Commerce intersection is a bad place to add more traffic.

“I’ve worked fatalities at that intersection,” he said. “Safety at that intersection is my biggest concern.”

Madison County government employees will now be able to donate up to 80 hours of their own vacation time to fellow employees who suffer serious illnesses or injuries and must miss work.

Commissioner Stanley Thomas proposed a change to county policy Aug.5 to allow employees to donate vacation days to fellow workers in need. The employees can already donate their sick leave to others.

“I felt employees should be allowed to use that time as they want,” said Thomas.

To accept a donation, an employee must qualify for help through the Family Medical Leave Act. The commissioners agreed to make this part of the policy, because they only want donations in times of serious need, such as for an employee suffering from cancer. They don’t want employees to use up all their vacation time and then ask fellow employees to donate their time.[Full Story »]

Though they got an extra week this summer, it’s over now and time for Madison County school students to hit the books once again.

A new school year begins this Friday (Aug. 16), a week later on the calendar than usual.

Some of the biggest changes this year will be for Madison County High School students as they navigate around the ongoing construction/renovations on campus. Construction is not slated for completion until 2014.

According to the high school website, the entrance to MCHS is “one way in only” off Madison Street due to the new construction. No one will be able to exit the school from this road. Instead, vehicles will have to exit the back road along the water treatment facility onto Colbert-Danielsville Road. The website says this plan will be in effect until all construction is complete.

Student and faculty parking has been rearranged to accommodate the construction.

Also new this year, the school system is piloting district-wide free breakfasts this semester for all students.

Lunch prices for elementary students are $1.75 per day and reduced lunches are 40 cents. All elementary schools provide an afterschool program until 6 p.m. each day at a cost of $6 per day, with a one-time enrollment fee of $10. [Full Story »]